Empathy and innovation. These are the words that have long defined the Crisis Text Line brand. They how we present ourselves to our community and the world at large: responses to social media comments, feedback to Crisis Counselors, and every post in this blog!

I have been diagnosed with a disorder known as DID. Dissociative Identity Disorder is defined by Psychology Today as “a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual”.

The lack of acknowledgment of mental health in my community never crossed my mind till I became an adult, no longer facing the issues of my past. Today, I see mental health as conspicuously absent from the conversation.

Whether we have dreams to become the next President of the United States or put an end to the school-to-prison pipeline, first-generation college students face a unique and unexpected set of challenges.

I see now that something that would be a minor blip on my radar today (at 43) would have been a major crisis for my younger self. I’ve realized that the types of problems my kids are beginning to have now are likely not going to be solved by me telling them to shake it off.